It's only Monday

but I'm exhausted!

I think it's because I barely had any sleep this weekend. It's always hard on my son when he's not able to sleep in his own bed.

He woke up around 2AM on Sunday morning and spent close to 3 hours crying (well screaming!) on and off. I then had to drive over three hours home later that night after we left my parent's house.

I really wanted to go to my fave Monday night yoga class, but I think tonight I will need to pass for my bed instead. I think I am even going to have to miss the reunion special for RHWNJ (not like it won't be repeated every day coming up anyway).

My husband and son are both already sleeping and it's barely 7PM.

Hope everyone had a good Monday back to work :). And that you also were able to catch up on some rest and relaxation (not like me LOL).

Relaxing weekend ahead

Today we are going to a christening for close friends. They are having the reception at one of my fave Italian restaurants so I am looking forward to some good eats. Then we are headed Upstate to my parents. We are staying overnight. Tommorrow they are hosting a huge family BBQ.

I am planning to make my new summer staple, grilled eggplant with peanut sauce.

(Let me know if you want the recipe, it's super easy!).

Anyways, I am looking forward to a little time away with just family and good friends because I have a feeling that the week ahead is going to be another crazy one. I am planning to bring a client into the community from a nursing home/behavioral placement. Discharge planning is always a nutty, stressful time for all involved, however, probably even moreso for me!!!

I went to identify the body

of my former client today with my colleague who had recently taken over the case. He felt a little uncomfortable going by himself. Neither one of us had ever done this before, so we really did not know what to expect.

When we arrived at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, we found that it was a pretty large, bright, airy building---not some dark basement of a hospital like we assumed. We were greeted warmly and asked to fill out some paperwork with some brief background information about our client, including some of his history, medical providers and our suspected cause of death.

After that, we sat in a nice waiting room and the worker came out to meet with us. We did not actually have to go "look" at a body. She brought out a digital photo of his face.

It was definitely our client, although like when many people die, it did not really look like our client.

After we stated that it was him, we sat and chatted for a little bit with the worker. She told us that she was impressed that we had come, and as social workers, did we have any suggestions of how to go about helping their office identify more of the people who are brought in.

I suggested that she gather up a list of local homeless shelters, mental health providers, and in particular ACT/ICM/SCM teams. She felt that this information was very helpful because there are so many bodies brought in each year that no one comes to claim, and she feels sad that they are eventually buried without a name, or a notification to anyone.

Anyway, I am really glad I went today. It brought me some closure, and I also learned what the process is to get a death certificate, as well as autopsy report (two items most social service agencies will often need as part of their own internal investigation when a client dies unexpectedly).

My co-worker and I are also thinking of doing a service to honor our former client's memory. Sadly, he really didn't have family or natural supports in his life, however, many of his helping providers remember him fondly so we would like to do a little something.

Sad

I learned today that one of my former clients, who was recently transferred to another social worker in our agency, lost their battle with schizophrenia.

I have not been able to get my former client out of my mind all day.

I remember them always trying to give me candy when I visited, and sending me nice little cards to thank for me for my efforts in working with them. (I still have them in my desk).

It's so sad. I believe that this is what they wanted though.

And I can only hope that they have finally found the peace they were looking for.

Finally

got back to yoga last night. I had an AMAZING class. It felt so nice to work out again, and let a whole bunch of stress just go. Then I came home and watched the season finale of Real Housewives of NJ. For some reason the "meeting" between Caroline and Danielle reminded me of some of my meetings with my most difficult clients. You know the ones where absolutely nothing gets accomplished? Even though your intentions are good? Where you leave there thinking "Could I have done anything differently?". "What can I do or say to help this person?".

Anyways, this mornning I am absolutely exhausted. I so wish I had a day I could just go back to sleep until I am actually ready to wake up on my own and not with an alarm. I don't think that's going to happen for awhile though.

So I am going to hop in the shower instead before DS wakes up. That always makes me feel better. Have a good one all!

Good one for a rainy Monday morning..........

I AM THANKFUL:



FOR THE WIFE
WHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS TONIGHT,
BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME,
AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

FOR THE HUSBAND
WHO IS ON THE SOFA
BEING A COUCH POTATO,
BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME
AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.

FOR THE TEENAGER
WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES
BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME,
NOT ON THE STREETS.

FOR THE TAXES I PAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM EMPLOYED.

FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE
BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.

FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE

FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING,
WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING,
AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING
I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
BECAUSE IT MEANS
WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH..

FOR THE PARKING SPOT
I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING
AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.

FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM WARM.

FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH
WHO SINGS OFF KEY BECAUSE IT MEANS
I CAN HEAR.

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.

FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES
AT THE END OF THE DAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN
CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.

FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF
IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.


~Author Unknown

Rainy day

It's raining here finally. We really need it too.

I got up around 7AM (DS actually slept pretty late for once!), and made sauce from a whole bunch of tomatoes from our garden.

DS went back in for a nap around 9:15AM so I've just been doing laundry and watching old 90210 re-runs (guilty pleasure).

I had to work this past Friday so it's been a shorter weekend for me. This coming week at work I already know is going to be crazy. We will be starting the bed bug prep on Monday and hopefully the exterminator will come on Tuesday. It's been nuts because both clients are blaming me and the agency for bringing in the bugs.

I seriously think it's an apartment complex issue though because some of the aides have told me that other tenants have them.

Not only that but has anyone seen the NEWS lately? They are all over the place. They had to close down a huge movie theatre in Manhattan due to an infestation.

The icing on the cake is that on Long Island, landlords are not responsible for bed bugs, so I am going to have to figure out how to get my clients money for the treatment, and possibly new furniture.

If it's an apartment complex issue.............I am sure this will not be the end that we hear of this..........and even if it is for awhile I can be sure that at least one of these clients is never going to let me forget that "her staff" is responsible for this mess.

Time online

This is something I have been thinking about a lot lately. I spend a good portion of my downtime, especially when DS is sleeping, online. I am often found on social networking sites like Facebook and several message boards. I have been going back and forth on whether or not to deactivate my accounts completely with a few of them, because of the time suck feeling. I did this once before with a private message board and I have to admit, it felt quite refreshing. Especially because my life had been taken over it seemed with unnecessary drama from STRANGERS, or people I barely knew IRL (I had met a few people a couple of times).

At present though, I think before I take such a drastic action like closing down my accounts, I really feel that I am going to have to try to make a more concious effort to just cut back my time online significantly.

I know by doing that I have to involve myself in some other activities. It's too easy to come home, lounge out on the couch with the TV on in the background, and get sucked into various sites. I also think it's an easy subsititution for social interaction because as I have mentioned before, DH often works very long hours.

So this is my new goal for the upcoming week. To cut back my online downtime.

I will need to find things to do around the house when DH is working. This is also a great reason to get back into yoga or to find stuff to do with him when he's not ;).

Do any of you ever feel like the internet has taken over your life, and have you been successful with cutting back the amount of time you stay online significantly?

What are some of your tips?

I've taken a week off

from yoga. I've had at least 3 opportunities to go this week and I've blown it off every time.

I think because I preferred to stay home with my family instead.

Hugging and snuggling with my son especially can be just as therapeutic, if not more.

I plan to start up again next week though. I may even try to fit in one early class over the weekend.

I still feel a little guilty though.

I can't believe it's only Tuesday

because it's been such a long week already. I think it's because half our department, including my boss is either on vacation or on medical leave.

As a result, I've been assigned (as well as volunteered to shut every panicking person up!) to do a bunch of extra work.

I don't mind helping out, and I think it's actually pretty cool that my boss trusts me enough with a lot more responsibility, but what I do not like is when certain people at work just expect me to drop everything to follow up on their tasks, or they just have a nasty attitude towards me because they want something done NOW!!

We are co-workers. We are from the same agency. We are on the same team, and want the same result. There's no need to be snarky to get what you want.


I just needed to vent. I'm over it now. However, hump day cannot get here fast enough.

I can relate to this guy LOL

NEW YORK – A JetBlue flight attendant got into an argument with a passenger on a jetliner arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday, cursed the passenger, grabbed a beer from the galley and then deployed an emergency exit slide and fled the plane, authorities said.

Flight attendant Steven Slater was arrested at his nearby home in the Belle Harbor section of Queens by Port Authority of New York And New Jersey police on charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing.

Slater, 39, remained in custody Monday night. His attorney's name wasn't immediately available, and there was no home telephone number listed for him. A woman who answered a phone at a previous residence listed for Slater in Thousand Oaks, Calif., identified herself as his mother but said she wasn't speaking to the press.

JetBlue Airways Corp. said in a statement that it was working with the Federal Aviation Administration and Port Authority police to investigate the matter. It said the safety of its customers and crew members was never at risk.

Slater was working on JetBlue Flight 1052 from Pittsburgh when he got into an argument with the passenger, who was pulling down baggage from an overhead bin, the Port Authority said. The luggage apparently struck the attendant in the head, and he asked for an apology, but the passenger refused, the agency said.

As the plane was landing, Slater got on the public-address system and cussed at the passenger, the Port Authority said. He then grabbed at least one beer, activated the slide, slid down and went to his car, it said.

Port Authority police were notified about 25 minutes later.

JetBlue would not say how long Slater had been employed by the company.

You can't control everything in your life

I have a client who has been driving me nutty all weekend, since he now has learned how to email, and knows I get my emails on my blackberry.

In any event, even though he is perfectly capable, he will often ask me to become involved in setting up his appointments for him. The other day he called me to ask if I could call one of his workers to let her know that he had to go out for blood work, so he may be a little late to her appointment, and could she just wait a few minutes for him.

I touched base with her and she said she had already rescheduled the appointment, because he called and cancelled. She was now seeing other clients so could not meet with him.

I told him this.

He's now been sending me emails all weekend complaining about why I cancelled his appointment, it could have only been me "because I have a Blackberry" (?????!!!!), etc. etc. etc.

I just sent him a response and told him that from now on, since I know he is capable of setting, and rescheduling his appointments, that will be the plan. He should only involve me if he is having some kind of major difficulty setting something up.

He does stuff like this with everyone that works with him because it's his way of feeling like he's controlling his situation.

For those of you who are social workers

outside of the NYC metropolitan area, where do you live?

What is the job market like by you?

What kind of social work do you do?

Any special requirements?

How is the cost of living?

What are salaries like?

Do you enjoy the area where you live?

How long do you plan on staying?

Is it good for raising a family?

If you are married, or in a relationship, what does your S.O. do?

Was it easy for THEM to find a job?

Any other pros/cons you can think of?

Lastly, any good tips in general when it comes to possibly relocating?

Husbands

I often feel that mine is my most challenging client. I really want to bang my head against the wall many days.


Can anyone relate? It's going to be a LONG ASS weekend!!!!!!

All in all

it's been a good week. Even despite the bed bugs issue. I did get the management company of the apartment complexes where my two clients reside, to agree to not charge for an exterminator to do the inspection. If they do in fact have bed bugs, that will be a different story. I will probably have to go down to DSS and apply for emergency money for the cleaning. We will cross that bridge when we come to it though.

I also found a really cool day program for one of my client's. I went on a tour today with him and his mom.

Tommorrow I am having new living room furniture delivered, and then later this weekend I am headed Upstate. I am taking my son to a country fair on Saturday. That should be a ton of fun. It will be so nice to get off of Long Island, if only for a day or two.

Well, we've made it through another week! Have a good weekend everyone :).

Cool Etsy Find

You so have to go to this Etsy Shop. I got all three of these this week and have been receiving tons of compliments from random strangers. They are made on Scrabble and Rummikub tiles. Go forth and shop! She even offers free shipping, and BOGO free specials.

I went

to yoga last night after not being there in about a week. It totally kicked my ass. It was very humid and I had to sit out for a lot of the poses. I really, really wish there was a way I could get there more often, so it's not like starting over all the time, but it's just not possible this month. There's too much craziness going on with DH's business and he's lucky if he gets home around 8 or 9PM each night.

I have been looking for places with childcare but I have only managed to find a couple of gyms that don't offer yoga classes so that's out.

A co-worker and I have talked about joining the hot yoga studio near our office in the fall and going after work. That may be a good option, except this particular studio is a little more expensive.

I have also thought about trying to go to some morning classes, and then just going into work a little later, and staying a little later (they are pretty flexible with our schedule).

I am so happy I have finally found something new that I love though, even if I can't get there half as much as I would like. I am confident that things will calm down a bit in the fall. I hope.............

My boss

I've mentioned him before on my blog. So, one of the client's with the bedbug infestation............she is someone who is traditionally very difficult for me to work with because in her eyes, I am the one who should be able to fix all of her problems----problems she's had since, well, birth. Problems that NO one, even GOD if you feel one exists, can cure. So you better believe that the fact that she may now have bed bugs is somehow MY fault. She is ready to rip me a new one when I go visit her tommorrow about this issue. A strategy that tends to work with her though, is for a supervisor to go meet with her and remind her that I am only there to coordinate her services, and not fix her life. So I invited him to join me tommorrow.

He called me while I was driving home tonight and said that he was probably not going to come, because his wife would kill him if he brought bed bugs home to their apartment. I told him my husband would probably kill me too (or at least forbid me to return!) if I told him about even half of the things I have to deal with at work. I really don't think the bed bugs are THAT contagious, as long as we don't just chill out on her couch or anything. I also know for a fact that he's said the same thing to at least two of my co-workers who have problematic cases, as well as a bed-bug issue going on (it really is such a tremendous problem in this area of the country).

He told me he'd call her on the phone and talk to her if I wanted.............how do you even respond to that? Imagine if I said I wasn't going to go to her home?! He's not a social worker though, so I guess that is his free pass............once again a social worker will be the one to assist with this mess. All the while being blamed for it, and getting little to no support from a supervisor.

Bed bugs

There's been an epidemic with them in the NYC area as of late. And lucky me, I got a call today that two of my clients apparently now have them. Both of them are "clean" and have had services for awhile so it's total speculation to where they may have gotten them from. It really could be ANYWHERE from what news and research shows. Anyways...........looks like this will be the next big problem I will have to deal with. I've been itching all day (literally) just thinking about cleaning up this mess.


Have any of you had to deal with this problem before either personally or professionally? What did you do and were you successful?

Up super early today

We are going on a work road-trip. About 3 hours away (probably more with traffic because we are picking up a co-worker in Manhattan) to interview with potential clients who if they decide to work with us, we will bring back into the community from a nursing home setting. I also am going to see one of my client's who I am in the process of bringing into the community right now. I have known him since I first started working in TBI-land and got him into this setting where we are going today because he was just not doing well at all in the community................anyways...........

I volunteered to drive today, I don't know why LOL. Me, 2 co-workers and my boss. I need coffee, stat! Happy Monday all :D.

Check out this blog + giveaway

This is such a cute and interesting blog, and the owner is doing a giveaway this week from a vintage jewelery site from Etsy. Have fun reading and checking out both sites.